"Hi, Nick." Shinobu's cheerful smile greets me as I enter the basement. The tension of the last couple of hours finally begins to fall from my shoulders.
"Are you okay?" I realize this question is a bit strange only after the words have left my mouth.
"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"
"Good, I'm glad." Not satisfied with my answer, she begins to pry.
"Is everything alright? How did the expedition go?"
"The corpse was gone. There wasn't even a single drop of blood on the ground." Her joyful expression is replaced by stunned confusion.
"How is that possible? You told me it was a gruesome fight when you got back yesterday."
"I'm not completely sure, but I do know someone that could pull it off. Remember when Inari pulled all the water out of our clothes shortly after you first arrived here?"
'Gasp'
Her sharp intake of air cuts through the room.
"She's probably outside right now. I'm going to go talk to her." I can hear my voice shake a little as I finish speaking. It's hard to process how much my view of the fairy leader has changed since this morning.
"I'm coming with you."
"Shinobu–"
"No, I want to help." Seeing how concerned she is for my safety is a bit heart warming but ultimately inconvenient. I approach the small girl calmly and place one hand on her shoulder. Using my elevated stats, I easily force her to the ground.
"Ow," she winces slightly as her knees buckle. She looks up at me, indignant.
"I'm sorry, but I can't have you getting in my way." Her shoulders drop at my explanation, and she looks at the ground.
"I'm still useless, huh."
I click my tongue. Trying to cheer her up won't work as she hasn't really contributed to the party yet. Any denial of her words will sound empty. Therefore, I decide to go in a different direction.
"Yes." She flinches at my honesty. "You'll have to get stronger before I can rely on you in situations like this."
I stand up to leave and try to think of anything to console her, but my mind is blank. I walk out, leaving an awkward tension in the air.
The suns are going down, and night is fast approaching. No rays of light make it to the forest floor. The leaves of the trees above are back lit by the red-colored sky. The warm glow of dusk threatens to drop the forest into darkness at any moment. I hesitantly approach the fort. A combination of anger and sadness fills my throat. I can already feel the corner of my eyes growing wet.
Floating in the air above the fort is the fairy leader, but she isn't facing me this time. A lump wells up in my throat. I close my eyes and take a few deep breaths to steady my voice before I speak. I already have some sense of what happened, but I want to confirm it with her. She hasn't said anything despite knowing I've arrived, so I assume she knows what I want to ask. I open my mouth to speak, but no words come out.
[She's already told me she's responsible for the situation by showing herself at the scene of the disappearance. If she decided to turn against us, I'd already be dead, so I can assume she took the corpse while still wanting to maintain relations with us or at least not wanting to actively work against us. This would also explain why she's here to talk to me. That only leaves the question of how dangerous this is. I have to assume she knows I've figured things out to this point, or she would have tried to defend herself.]
"Is Shinobu in any immediate danger?" Having gathered my thoughts, I begin my interrogation.
"...No." The pause before her response tells me that this isn't an immutable fact.
"Are the other members of my party in any immediate danger?" This next question is laid out to isolate the range of the potential threat. If this answer was different from the first, I would know that the town of Alkine is a potential target.
"...No." Again the pause tells me that this may not always be the case.
"Are the fairies in any immediate danger?" This next question will inform me of how much control Inari has over the situation. An affirmation would mean that the fairy town would need to relocate, and denial would mean that they have some measure of control over the threat.
"I don't know," Inari answers almost instantly. This is the worst possible response as it implies they have no control over the situation and are powerless to do anything about it. The fact that she didn't hesitate also tells me that this is an immutable fact. Whatever is acting behind the scenes is much more powerful than the combined strength of the fairy village.
[Inari will be most concerned with the survival of the fairy population at large and will, in all likelihood, sacrifice a few fairies in order to save the tribe. Woohee being one of the younger fairies makes her much more vulnerable to being thrown into harm's way.]
I take a few breaths to regain my composure. I have no idea if what I'm about to say will benefit me or not, but it needs to be said either way.
"If anything happens to Woohee…." I drill deep into the back of Inari's head with my gaze. Every ounce of anger and fear expands through my voice. "I'll kill you."
'Pfft'
Inari clearly doesn't take my threat seriously, but I hold my position, nonetheless.
"That's what you're worried about?" Her callous words harden my conviction. "What about your friends? What happens if they're killed? Will you still try to kill me if your little friends die?"
"That goes without saying."
"I don't know if I should laugh or cry." She finally turns around to face me. "I don't know if today's events have affected how much you trust me, but I just want you to know that I've gained a whole new level of respect for you. You had the opportunity to sell me out multiple times but weaved your way around it. On top of that, when you realized the strength of the threat, you tried to protect one of my fairies. I wish we had met a few hundred years earlier; maybe things would have turned out differently."
I don't really know what to make of her words, so I hold my tongue.
"I have to go now. I'll continue to look out for you and your companions." Inari drops one last bomb before flying towards her village. A wave of exhaustion sweeps over me, and I struggle to hold back my tears. A new nightmare has awakened, and I'm facing the possibility of losing another friend. All the doubts that drifted into the recesses of my mind have suddenly resurfaced.
[I'm not strong enough.]
A renewed sense of vigor fills my chest: I need to increase my workload in order to protect those around me. My thoughts drift to the levels I've gained recently. A storm rages in my head as I walk back down to the basement. Shinobu is lying in bed with the lights still on. I can tell she's upset, but I don't have the capacity to comfort her right now. I focus and speak the magic word.
"Status."
The usual layout appears before me. I've already redeemed my levels for a skill once before, so I know what to do. I focus on the Index skill for a few seconds until it lights up. After another moment, a list of options falls from where the title is placed.
[I need to pick a skill that will increase my rate of growth at the moment but still be useful later down the line.]
As I glance at each skill, a description of their effects appears nearby.
Flash Step: Temporarily increased movement speed at the expense of increased stamina depletion. Cost: 19 Levels
Adrenal Burst: Voluntarily releases adrenaline to increase strength, speed, and dilate time perception. Obtaining higher levels can increase Adrenal gland capacity. Cost: 12 Levels
Hydraulic Punch: Add a force vector to the tail end of an attack. Cost: 22 Levels
Farsight: Temporarily increase view distance at the expense of peripheral vision. Cost: 18 Levels
Limit Break: Increased strength and speed at the cost of drastically increased stamina consumption and continuous health point depletion. Obtaining higher levels can cause serious injury. Cost: 20 Levels
I have thirteen personal levels, seven job levels, and three skill levels. I don't want to use my skill levels no matter how much I need a skill, so I effectively have twenty levels to spend.
[The Limit Break skill looks enticing, but I think the Flash Step skill is the best one to get long-term. Lifting weights provides the same type of training as the Limit Break skill, so the only benefit is a power boost in combat, but I can get that with potions. There's also no guarantee that the HP depletion will help grow my vitality over time. On the other hand, The Flash Step skill should help with my endurance and agility, which are the most time-consuming to train. I'll have to do some research on the Hydraulic Punch skill, but for now, it's too expensive.]